ARC Review: Godfather Death

The Thirteenth Child by Erin A. Craig

Publication Date: September 24, 2024

Summary from NetGalley:

All gifts come with a price.

Hazel Trépas has always known she wasn’t like the rest of her siblings. A thirteenth child, promised away to one of the gods, she spends her childhood waiting for her godfather—Merrick, the Dreaded End—to arrive.

When he does, he lays out exactly how he’s planned Hazel’s future. She will become a great healer, known throughout the kingdom for her precision and skill. To aid her endeavors, Merrick blesses Hazel with a gift, the ability to instantly deduce the exact cure needed to treat the sick.

But all gifts come with a price. Hazel can see when Death has claimed a patient—when all hope is gone—and is tasked to end their suffering, permanently. Haunted by the ghosts of those she’s killed, Hazel longs to run. But destiny brings her to the royal court, where she meets Leo, a rakish prince with a disdain for everything and everyone. And it’s where Hazel faces her biggest dilemma yet—to save the life of a king marked to die. Hazel knows what she is meant to do and knows what her heart is urging her toward, but what will happen if she goes against the will of Death?

ARC provided by Random House via NetGalley for an honest review.

Confession:

One of the things I love about Erin Craig’s retellings is she often uses the little known fairy tales as her starting point. Many of you have probably never heard or read Godfather Death, but don’t let that stop you from enjoying this retelling. It is dark and captivating with characters you will love, and a story that will leave you breathless with every page.

Hazel is the main character and the only point of view. We follow her life from a very early age to her late teens. Her journey is full of heartbreak and loneliness, but she grows into a strong and independent young woman in the end. Her younger years are shaped by a somewhat cruel, but mostly indifferent family. Her parents made a bargain with Death before she was born, and that shaped their relationships with her. But their indifference made her stronger and able to handle what life throws at her.

I also adored Merrick, Death, who even though he was a god often seemed to be very human as well. He was often baffled by human emotions and struggled with understanding why Hazel struggled with her loneliness and need to connect with other humans. They had a very loving relationship if a little bit on the strange side as well.

There are lots of secondary characters and I enjoyed many of them, especially the other gods that we meet. There is a romance of sorts. Hazel becomes the royal healer and she and the prince develop feelings for each other. I liked the romance, I liked them together, but there did seem to be a little something missing from it as well. I appreciated how Hazel would always call Leo out on his bullshit, but I also liked that he listened to her and tried to change.

The story was amazingly well done. The pacing was perfect and the twists and turns of the story especially at the end, were totally unexpected. I loved how she took a fairly short and simple fairytale and fleshed it out into this amazing story of loss and choices. The writing is so atmospheric and the world building is perfect. I have only one small complaint though, and that had to do with the ghosts that are following Hazel around. She finally tells Merrick about them, and they then just disappear. It just felt a little abrupt and unfinished. But the ending of the story is just perfect, and while it doesn’t fully follow the original tale, it was a happier and satisfying ending to Hazel’s story.

Fans of this author will just love this newest addition to her fairytale retellings. I think she will gain a lot of new fans through this book as well. If you enjoy your retellings dark and yet at the same time hopeful, then this is one you want to make sure you pick up.